Another Thanksgiving List

I've had a little more time to think about what I'm thankful for the last two months, so here's my more detailed list.

Things that I’m Thankful For

JESUS CHRIST

JAMES STEPHEN MA

Because James was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction, we knew he would come early.

People were praying for James even before he was born.

I was able to freeze some meals before James arrived.

When my water broke at home, I was able to reach John and my mom.

John got home pretty quickly.

My mom came over pretty quickly.

Ti and Albert volunteered to watch the girls in case my mom was going to take longer to get to our house.

Dr. Montgomery made the wise decision to do an emergency c-section. I was having an abruption, and if we had waited longer, things could have gotten worse for both James and me.

James has cute brown hair with blond highlights. Some Asians pay a lot of money for hair like that!

Our family and friends have been praying for us and James so faithfully.

The doctors, nurses, and therapists at Cy-Fair Hospital’s NICU were excellent. We are especially thankful for Dr. Chamkur, Dr. Baker, Lori, Gayle, Marissa, Kimberly, Grace, Julie, and Bridget.

Cy-Fair Hospital is only ten minutes away from our house, so going back and forth to the hospital was easy.

My mom and John’s mom came over and stayed with us to cook, clean, and take care of the girls.

Because James was in the NICU that first month, I was able to recover from my c-section fairly quickly and easily.

God blessed me with an abundance of breastmilk.

Our faith in Jesus Christ carried us through the roller coaster of emotions when James was in the NICU.

James was diagnosed with PWS early so that we can begin early intervention.

God really comforted me through His Word that night after James was diagnosed. Verse after verse spoke to me of God’s love and care of His children.

As soon as we received the news of James’ diagnosis, we found out that Texas Children’s Hospital has a PWS clinic. How blessed we are to live in Houston!

A few days after James was diagnosed, the girls got to meet him for the first time. They fell in love with him. It was a precious moment that we will never forget.

John made a comment that I will always remember. “James should be able to understand that Jesus loves him and died for him, and that’s the most important thing.” How true that is!

John has been such a great husband. I’m so blessed to be married to a godly man.

I went inactive as a PT this year, and now I know why God called me to do that. He knew I would have a special needs child, and He knew that I would need to be at home full time to take care of my children.

Now I also know one of the reasons why I became a PT. God knew that, in the future, I would have a child who would need therapy. God is truly all-knowing!

God tested our faith through this experience with James. Do we really believe what we say we do? Is God really God? Is God really good? Is God really sovereign? The answer is a resounding YES!

James made really good progress in the NICU with his feedings. He was able to come home at one month on all oral feeds. Some PWS babies are tube-fed for months.

We were able to schedule our first appointment with Dr. Scheimann at TCH before James even came home.

James is such a good baby. He rarely cries, and he loves to snuggle.

Everyone has been so caring. We have received too many phone calls and emails from people checking on us to even count. We feel extremely blessed by our family and friends.

Because James came early, we were able to attend two weddings in December that we wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.

The girls love their baby brother, and they shower him with kisses and hugs. Elisabeth has been particularly helpful.

I get to be Elisabeth, Abigail, and James’ mommy. What an awesome privilege and responsibility!

Our Christmas Picture

We just had to share this with you all! It's our new favorite picture of the kids.

James' appointment with the specialist at Texas Children's went very well. She spent over an hour talking with us, answering our questions, and planning for future treatment. We feel so blessed to live in a city with a big medical center that has a clinic specifically for James' diagnosis. God is so good!

FYI, James is now 7lb 7.5oz. We praise God for our growing boy.

Flowers of the Field

Elisabeth's favorite lullaby lately has been a Chinese song called, "Flowers of the Field." It was written based on Matthew 6:25-34, which has been a great reminder for us that we are not to worry about the future, not for James, not for Elisabeth and Abigail, and not for us.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

James had an evaluation with Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) on Monday, and he only qualified for OT once a month. The reason he qualified for so little therapy is that he is doing so well! He kicks his feet, he turns his head to both sides when he is on his back, he brings his hands to his mouth, he makes eye contact when we talk to him, and he is beginning to track objects visually, which are all things a 0-2 month old should do. Praise God for this great progress!

James has an appointment with a specialist at Texas Children's Hospital tomorrow afternoon. We are praying that it will go smoothly and we will have some direction about further treatment. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. We love you all dearly.

The Godfather

We have asked our good friend Swaroop to be James' godfather. He came to hang out with us this weekend. Here are some pictures of Swaroop, James, and the rest of the family.

James has been home for almost two weeks now! I'm not getting much sleep, but it sure helps to have John's mom around to help with cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the girls. Here are some updated pictures of James. The second picture is of him in his sisters' baby doll carrier - he's so little, he fits! The third picture is a family shot of us at church last Sunday. Since it was James' first time at church, when Karen asked if there were any newcomers, John held up James like Simba in The Lion King and introduced him to the congregation. It was cute!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season:

1. Our new baby boy, James Stephen
2. I was able to reach John and my mom when my water broke
3. John and my mom were able to get home quickly
4. My doctor made the wise decision to send me for an emergency c-section
5. Cy-Fair's NICU staff - doctors, nurses, and therapists
6. Cy-Fair is only ten minutes away from our house
7. Our faith in Christ, which has truly carried us through this month
8. Our friends and family, who supported us and prayed for us
9. John's perspective that the most important thing is that James knows and loves Jesus
10. James has drawn our family closer together
11. The girls' love and affection for their baby brother
12. Our moms who stayed with us this past month
13. An abundant supply of breastmilk
14. James came home on his one month birthday
15. God chose me to be James' mother! What an awesome responsibility and privilege!

One Month Old and Homecoming!

James was one month old yesterday, and we got to bring him home! While we are thankful for the NICU staff at Cy-Fair Hospital, we are thrilled that he's home with us. Our house may be a mess, but our family is together. Elisabeth and Abigail were so excited to see their baby brother. They wanted to watch and help us feed him and change him. They even wanted to stand by his bassinet and just watch him sleep. We are so blessed by their perspective on their brother.

GREAT NEWS!

James is coming home tomorrow! He has been taking all of his feedings by bottle since Tuesday, and he's been doing great. His suck and swallow have really improved, and his muscle tone is much better too. He will becoming home on his one month birthday!

We are so thankful for our doctors, nurses, and therapists at Cypress-Fairbanks Medical Center. They really have been a wonderful team to work with. We know that we couldn't have asked for better care for our little boy.

So here's another answered prayer. James will be home in time for Thanksgiving - four days earlier, in fact. Praise God!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Carseat Test

James got to try out his carseat for the first time today. The nurses put him in it to see make sure he can tolerate being in it without his oxygen levels dropping or his heart rate slowing down. Unfortunately, his oxgyen levels did drop, so we're going to work with the PT and OT on positioning with some foam supports to see if that helps.







James' doctor also ordered his NG tube removed! He's been doing okay with his feedings, so the doctor decided to try him without it to see how he does for 48 hours. If he doesn't consistently drink at least 35 mls of breastmilk, it might have to be have put back in, but we feel fairly confident that he can do it. We so enjoyed seeing his little face without any tubes!

By the way, James is growing and putting on some weight. He now weighs 5lb 7oz!

Good News

James' doctor advanced his feedings this morning. Before this, James was taking every other feeding orally and every other feeding through the NG tube. Now he gets to try all bottles! Once he can finish all his bottles for two days in a row, he can come home. Thank God for this good news.

More Full Feedings

James has been doing well with his feedings. He's now up to four bottles a day, with the other four feedings through the NG tube. Friday he even took two full bottles in a row (3pm and 6pm). We are so proud of our little Superman! Our prayer is that he would gain enough strength to take all of his feedings orally and come home in time for Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for James and all the lessons God has taught us in these few short weeks through him. We are also thankful for everyone's prayers and support during this difficult time. Thank you!

A Glimpse into Heaven

The girls got to meet their baby brother for the first time last Saturday. They were so excited! Elisabeth couldn't stop staring at him and saying, "He's so cute!" It was exactly what our hearts needed to see. It truly was a glimpse into heaven!

A Full Feeding

James took a full feeding by bottle yesterday! His oxygen levels dropped a little during the feeding, though, so the nurse had to take the bottle out of his mouth every few sucks. We are so encouraged by this progress. To come home from the hospital, he has to be able to take all his feedings by mouth, so this is good news indeed.

We are waiting for test results for a rare syndrome. Please pray that these results would be negative. Also, the doctors have asked to meet with us for a family conference tomorrow afternoon. We are trying not to read too much into this request, but it does make us nervous. Please pray for God's peace during this time of waiting.

Tiny Tiger

James has gained another ounce and half! He'll weigh five pounds before we know it!

James' nurse noticed he was cold yesterday and asked us to bring him some sleepers to keep him warm. So we got to play dress up and put our little guy in this preemie outfit. He even opened his eyes for the event!

In other good news, James took 15 cc's of breastmilk by mouth yesterday, a significant improvement from the first time. We're praying for continued improvement with feedings.

We've gotten to know some of the other parents of infants in the NICU. Last night we got to rejoice with another couple who had twin girls at 33 weeks. They get to take one of their girls home today!

Answered Prayer #2

Praise the Lord! James' MRI came back normal! He also had some genetics studies done that came back normal today. Tonight we got to the hospital in time to give James a sponge bath before the nurse weighed him. He now weighs 4lb 12.2 oz, as you can see.

Because his muscles are still hypotonic, the doctors are doing some further testing to rule out some rarer disorders. Please pray that these tests would also be negative. We are hoping that the only reason James' muscle tone is poor is because of his prematurity.

One passage that has given us a lot of comfort in the last eleven days is Psalm 139:13-16.
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Answered Prayer #1

Last night we went to visit Baby James in the NICU. When we got there, this is what we saw.
He's now in an open crib and off oxygen! Praise God! This is a huge answer to prayer.

One funny thing we noticed about James
is that he has some blond hair. We have no idea where that came from, but it sure is cute!

James is scheduled to have an MRI today to see if there is any evidence of lack of oxygen to the brain that would have happened during labor and delivery. Please pray that the MRI would be negative. Thanks for your prayers.

Welcome!

Welcome to James' blog! I thought it would be a good idea to create this blog to keep everyone updated on James' progress and to see how God has answered our prayers.